The city of Houston Planning and Development Department and the Archaeological and Historical Commission announced Thursday that it seeks to refine the ordinance, which was updated in 2010 to create permanent protections for historic structures in designated districts and establish a new process for creating a district. The goal would be to clarify certain aspects of the ordinance and provide more consistency for the applicants. The amendments would provide “applicants with additional options for a streamlined approval, provide the Commission with improved guidance on which to base their decision and create a more efficient process,” the planning department says.

A committee will meet over the next few months to establish amendments that may include the following improvements:

Broaden the scope of projects that may obtain the Director’s Administrative Approval

“My direction is for the committee to look for tweaks that will make the ordinance easier to understand and more user-friendly,” said Mayor Annise Parker said in a statement. “We are taking a scalpel, not a hatchet, to the ordinance. There is no intention of a wholesale reconsideration of the changes adopted in 2010.”